Parkways

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A specific kind of road that is constructed for leisure driving and is often lined with natural scenery, providing access to parks or outdoor areas
2. Roads designed mainly for recreational journeys that feature scenic views and link to various parks or natural environments
3. Roads created to offer enjoyable driving experiences through natural or landscaped settings

Etymology: "Parkways" is the plural of "parkway", and the word's most interesting twist is that its most-cited origin is uncertain. The simple reading is that it combines "park" and "way", a road running through parkland. Yet the same word is often said to be a blend of "car park" and "railway", which would make it a modern coinage of the motor age. Another possibility is that it comes from Bristol Parkway railway station, built in the early 1970s, which seems to have been named after the M32 motorway, itself called Parkway because it runs through Stoke Park. The origin of the word thus appears to lie in a place name, not a general idea of parks. Whichever explanation is correct, the word belongs to the twentieth century, when roads built for pleasure drives and scenic routes through open land became a planning idea. The compound's first element points to green space, and its second to the road, so the word describes a road that is itself part of a landscape.

Synonyms: boulevards, avenues